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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27139181">A dried out heart (And the sound of a gunshot)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/naivesilver/pseuds/naivesilver'>naivesilver</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hatoful Boyfriend Ship Week 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hatoful Kareshi | Hatoful Boyfriend</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Cipolla Colt Fusion, Alternate Universe - Western, Gen, Hatoful Boyfriend Ship Week - Day 3: Together, ICPSS enabled, Past Character Death, Shooting, accidental adoption, this is extremely niche I'm sorry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:53:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,746</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27139181</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/naivesilver/pseuds/naivesilver</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The men down at the saloon might have laughed at the onion cargo he'd carted around town, but those were the kind of men who would not survive a journey through the desert because they hadn't brought enough provisions. He could let them laugh.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>His gun was always loaded, anyway, in case they stopped laughing and put hand to theirs.</i>
</p>
<p>Leone plans to settle down in a small, anonymous town.<br/>Obviously, nothing goes according to plan.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>One | Leone J.B. &amp; Sakazaki Yuuya, One | Leone J.B. &amp; Tosaka Hiyoko, Sakazaki Yuuya &amp; Tosaka Hiyoko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hatoful Boyfriend Ship Week 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963837</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Hatoful Boyfriend Ship Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A dried out heart (And the sound of a gunshot)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This one is for the friend who introduced me to the greatest movie in cowboy cinematic history.<br/>If you're Janiedean: I AM NOT SORRY AND ALSO THIS IS TRASH<br/>If you're not Janiedean: please take this as your average western!AU. Or watch Cipolla Colt/Cry, Onion - it's fucking great and it makes me laugh without fail.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leone was <em>not </em>having a good day.</p>
<p>Not only had the inhabitants of Littledove City been openly hostile, they'd also made finding the way to the stretch of land he'd purchased a living hell.</p>
<p>Not that those jittery little men had posed much of a problem for him. But he'd hoped to make good time on the road, and instead he'd wasted most of his day putting them in their places.</p>
<p>So he was pretty sure nobody could blame him if he let out a brief sigh of relief when the farm finally came into view.</p>
<p>"We made it, Jean" he grumbled under his breath, patting the flank of his horse.</p>
<p>The horse didn't reply. Which did not mean that he couldn't speak, only that he was too disgruntled by their recent misadventures to be of any use in a conversation.</p>
<p>Leone dismounted as soon as he'd stepped into the property, grunting when the bones in his back creaked after such a long time in the saddle. He wasn't getting any younger, it seemed.</p>
<p>With any luck, farming would do him much better than going around settling disputes had ever done. He could hardly wait to get his bearings around the place and plant the seedlings he'd brought with him</p>
<p>The men down at the saloon might have laughed at the onion cargo he'd carted around town, but those were the kind of men who would not survive a journey through the desert because they hadn't brought enough provisions. He could let them laugh. His gun was always loaded, anyway, in case they stopped laughing and put hand to theirs.</p>
<p>The loud, booming sound of gunshots caught him entirely by surprise.</p>
<p>Leone dropped to the ground purely out of instinct. It was only sheer luck that the first bullet hit the dusty earth in front of him and not the flesh of his thigh.</p>
<p>He'd let his guard down. That could have been a fatal mistake.</p>
<p>More bullets followed in quick succession. Cursing aloud, the man rolled to the side, trying to get out of harm's way.</p>
<p>Hell, what was the problem with this city's inhabitants? Had someone poured something in their water reserve? Could he not be afforded five minutes of peace?</p>
<p>He tried shooting back, but the bullet rain didn't seem in any hurry to stop. The pauses were filled, as he quickly discovered, by the mysterious assailant throwing what sounded like bombs at him. They exploded a few feet from him, forcing him to circle around the fence he'd hidden himself behind.</p>
<p>"Is this how you welcome every new owner?" He yelled, barely audible over the cacophony they were raising. "Or am I just unlucky?"</p>
<p>The shooting stopped. Over the ringing left behind in his ears, Leone could just make out what sounded like a hushed argument coming from wherever the other had been shooting from.</p>
<p>At least two people then. Great. Not one of them had had the aim to hit him even once, so he was not overly worried, but as the saying went, it only took one bullet.</p>
<p>He drew closer carefully, then, not lowering his gun. "Come out now. Whatever your deal is, it's gonna save me and you both a lot of trouble if you put down your weapons and show your faces."</p>
<p>For a moment there was only silence. Then two small figures emerged from behind the dry bushes that flanked the house, and Leone almost dropped the gun.</p>
<p>They were kids.</p>
<p>Bloody kids, a boy and a girl, and neither of them any older than ten. They didn't look like siblings, but after all it was hard to say, under all the layers of dirt and grime and tattered clothes the two had on their bodies. The boy was tall and lanky, with pale blue hair and a hard scowl on his face; the girl, though clearly younger, was stockier and square-shouldered, an unruly mop of hair falling in her eyes and on the sun-tanned skin of her neck.</p>
<p>The boy was pointing a rifle at him. The girl had an axe in her hands, and a look on her face that suggested she either knew how to use it or was very eager to learn.</p>
<p>"Put down your gun" the boy said, trying to sound menacing and failing miserably, considering his voice was still the high and reedy one of a child. There was some sort of foreign accent to it, too, though none Leone could recognize.</p>
<p>"You put down yours, kid" Leone replied, resisting the urge to sigh wearily. He could handle all manners of dangerous situations (and he had, over the years) but children with a</p>
<p>death wish might prove to be too much. "I could get the both of you before you so much as take aim well enough to shoot, and you know it."</p>
<p>"You said you were a new owner" the girl interjected, gripping the axe so tight her knuckles were turning white. "What did you mean?"</p>
<p>"I bought this stretch of land." Carefully, without taking his eyes off them, Leone dug into his pocket and produced the rolled-up deed. "I'm planning to take over the farm and retire here. Look, I've got onions to plant on my cart already."</p>
<p>Silence stretched for a couple seconds. Then the girl lowered her weapon, something passing over her face. "My father always said this terrain was not good for onions. Mom tried, but we were better off with the oxen, he said."</p>
<p>"Your father? What-" A sudden realization crossed Leone's mind. "Shit. Were your parents the Tosakas?"</p>
<p>She nodded. "I'm Hiyoko Tosaka, and this is Yuuya."</p>
<p>"Hiyoko" the boy-Yuuya-hissed, but she ignored him, instead peering at Leone with a mixture of suspicion and poorly concealed curiosity.</p>
<p>"I thought everyone in the family was dead" Leone said, a million thoughts racing through his brain. "That there was some kind of accident."</p>
<p>"They tried to get me too." Hiyoko raised her axe again, proudly. "We fought them back, though. We're good at that."</p>
<p>"Yes, I can see that." Slowly, hoping that they would not immediately try to chop him into pieces, Leone sheated his gun. "Alright, this sounds like a long story, and one I could hear better inside. Are you going to lead the way?"</p>
<p>"How do we know we can trust you?" Yuuya asked, without budging an inch.</p>
<p>"Look, boy, people down in the town have already tried keeping me from this land, so if anything, I'm on your side. And as I said, if I wanted to get rid of you, I'd have already done so." He gestured vaguely towards the cart. "Besides, I've got food to share, if you want some."</p>
<p>Both of them stilled at the mention of food. They shared a sidelong glance, a silent conversation going on before Leone’s eyes. Finally, Yuuya lowered his rifle, albeit with some reluctancy. “Fine. I’ll bring your horse in.”</p>
<p>“Aw, no, let me do it!” Hiyoko interjected, a sudden spark in her eyes. “I haven’t tended to an animal in ages. We only get jackals nowadays, and those I can only scare off. Does your horse like strangers?”</p>
<p>“Too much” Leone muttered. “Don’t let him talk you into doing anything.”</p>
<p>But the girl was already running away, bouncing off excitedly towards Jean. Leone watched her go, suddenly looking more like a normal young child than a guerrilla fighter (if one ignored the axe), then turned back to Yuuya, who was still staring at him with heavy distrust in his eyes.</p>
<p><em>Chris</em>t, he thought, feeling the beginnings of an headache already pounding in the back of his skull, <em>what did I just get myself into?</em></p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“So” Leone said, sitting down at the kitchen table. “Tell me about these men who are trying to get your farm.”</p>
<p>Both Hiyoko and Yuuya looked up from their plates, still chewing enthusiastically. The miracles a pot of onion soup could do – neither of them had uttered a single word since they’d seen the food laid in front of them, too busy shovelling spoonfuls of it in their mouths.</p>
<p>It had gotten him to wonder just how long it had been since they’d last had a decent meal. A cursory search had revealed only a few scraps of salted beef, stashed religiously in the back of a cupboard.</p>
<p>Hiyoko tried to speak, but her mouth was still full. At Leone’s raised eyebrow, she swallowed down and started again. “It’s just the one man, actually. The rest are just working for him because he’s filthy rich and has been paying everyone to do what he says.”</p>
<p>“And who’s he to be so rich and powerful?”</p>
<p>“Mister Le Bel – or <em>Monsieur</em>, as he likes to be called” Yuuya answered. “A French oilman. And my stepfather.”</p>
<p>Something in his voice made Leone pause. “It doesn’t sound like there’s any lost love between the two of you.”</p>
<p>The boy gritted his teeth. “He’s a bastard” he all but snarled. “He killed my father to get to my mom, and he did the same to Hiyoko’s parents so he could steal their land. I’ve got nothing to do with him.”</p>
<p>Leone raised his hands in mock-surrender. “Peace, kid. I didn’t know.”</p>
<p>The whole business was growing more complicated by the minute, though. What had seemed just a good deal for an old farm had quickly turned into a family feud that he was getting stuck in the middle of.</p>
<p>
  <em>Jean was right. I should have gotten out of this town as soon as I saw the first gun come out.</em>
</p>
<p>He turned back to Hiyoko. “So the accident was a ruse?”</p>
<p>The girl nodded. “They went hunting and never came back. I should have been with them, but my friend Ryouta’s mom was sick and I stayed behind to help him take care of her. The sheriff said they’d fallen into a bear trap, but it’s impossible. They were good hunters, they’d never be so careless.”</p>
<p>“So the farm should be yours by right. Why would they try to steal it?”</p>
<p>“Le Bel thinks he might find oil if he digs under this ground. He didn’t say it when he tried to buy it the first time, but everyone in town’s saying the same thing. They believe that if he gets even more rich with their help, he’ll thank them with more money and jobs, and then the city will prosper.”</p>
<p>“It won’t happen” Yuuya said, sullenly. “He’ll keep it all for himself and buy every business in town so he can raise the prices. He’s done it a few times already.”</p>
<p>“He sounds the type of man who would do it.” Leone mulled over what they’d said for a moment. “Is <em>everyone</em> around here on his side?”</p>
<p>“Well, not all of them” Hiyoko said, twirling the spoon between her fingers as her brow furrowed in concentration. “There’s Ryouta and his mom – his dad died while working with Le Bel, so they don’t like him at all. Our friend Nageki and his brother Hitori – he’s our schoolteacher. Mr Kenzaburou and Azami at the saloon, and Mr Rabu will do everything Miss Azami says. And…That’s pretty much it, if you don’t count some of our classmates from the ranches north of town.”</p>
<p>Not what one would call an army platoon. “Any of them know their way around a gun?”</p>
<p>The girl smiled. “Mr Uzune doesn’t look like much, but once he started shooting at Doctor Iwamine because he was trying to poison our water supplies. And Nageki’s good with fire – he helped us put together the bombs we threw at you.” She paused. “Sorry about it, by the way. We thought you were one of them.”</p>
<p>“Don’t mention it. Anyone else?”</p>
<p>“San from one of the buffalo ranches once tried to headbutt Le Bel in the stomach” Yuuya added. “He couldn’t do much else, since the man has got too many lackeys around him all the time. It was funny, though. My brother yelled at him for a while.”</p>
<p>Leone’s ears perked up. “Your brother?”</p>
<p>“Le Bel’s son by my mother. He doesn’t like me much.” The boy went quiet for a moment, then he smiled, shrugging as though the matter at hand wasn’t bothering him much. “I’m lucky Hiyoko let me stay here. My brother always objects to me taking any space in the house that is not in the stables, I didn’t fancy smelling like horse all the time.”</p>
<p>“Stop it.”  Hiyoko punched him in the shoulder, hard enough to bruise. “You’re my friend, and you had nowhere else to go. And you’ve been helping me all this time.”</p>
<p>She gave Leone a big grin. “We make a good team together, we really do. Yuuya’s father taught him how to shoot, and my mama showed me how to use a bow. And an axe. And a spear, too, though mine never come out looking as good as hers.”</p>
<p>The fact that picturing a small, baby faced girl wielding a spear two feet taller than her could no longer shake him was a testament to how hectic the past hours had been. Leone sighed, massaging his temples. “Alright. Then I’ll need your help in drafting a defence plan.”</p>
<p>Both children straightened up instantly, as though struck by lightning. “What? Why?” Yuuya asked.</p>
<p>“Because the next time they’ll try to take this place, we’ll be fighting ten against one at best, so we’re going to need some sort of strategy. And you know the land better than I do.”</p>
<p>“We?” Hiyoko stammered. “But…Why? Why would you help us?”</p>
<p>The man gestured vaguely to the room surrounding them. “Listen, kid, this farm should be yours, and I don’t intend to stick around if there’s no chance my onions will grow here. But these people won’t leave you alone, and I don’t particularly like grown men trying to hurt kids for money, so I’ll lend a hand until this mess is sorted out.”</p>
<p>He paused, regarding them carefully. “Unless you want me to get the hell away from your house, which I would understand. No hard feelings, and I’ll make sure to pay a visit to this Doctor Iwamine on my way out of town.”</p>
<p>There was a beat of silence, and Leone almost convinced himself they would, indeed, ask him to leave. It would have been reasonable – he’d tried to talk to them as he would have grown-ups, but they were children, and ones that had been living dangerously for a while as well. They’d probably cultivated a healthy fear of any adult man stepping closer than ten feet from them.</p>
<p>Then Hiyoko broke into a huge smile. “Oh, thank you! I bet together, we’ll defeat them all!”</p>
<p>“I’m sure we will.” And he wasn’t lying. If they’d managed to survive on their own for so long, his contribution would only push matters forward. “Now, then. Do you have any maps of this area?”</p>
<p>She nodded, jumping off the bench. “My dad had some. I’ll see if I can find them.”</p>
<p>“I’ll be keeping an eye on you anyway” Yuuya said, once she had left the room. “Don’t think I won’t, old man.”</p>
<p>“I believe you” Leone replied, absent-mindedly. He was feeling a strong need to smoke something; he only had to hope he hadn’t cleaned out his cigar reserve on the way to Littledove City. “But I think you’ll better let me teach you how to aim better before you take a hit at me again.”</p>
<p>“You’re going to regret doing that, <em>mon ami</em>.”</p>
<p>But the boy was smiling as he ran off after his friend, and though defiant, it was a relieved sort of smile, and a more believable than the one he’d sported while talking about his family.</p>
<p>And then again, Leone mused as he leaned back against the chair, Yuuya was right. <em>Of course</em> he was going to regret it. He had an inkling those kids and that Le Bel guy would end up being the death of him, but he couldn’t have lived with himself if he’d just turned his back without doing anything. If one was on the dance floor, the only thing they could do was dance, and he’d been dragged onto that floor bodily the moment he’d caught wind of what was happening in town.</p>
<p><em>Well</em>, he thought, listening to the squabbling and banging around in the next room over, <em>if things go south, we have enough onions to last us the winter.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So...Yeah. This is late. And it will also cater to approx. the 0.3% of the people that might stumble upon it. But I've spent the past week writing about Leone JB who is my undisputed Hatoful fave, so all in all I'm satisfied.<br/>Thank you for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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